It was 2014. The internet was a different place, but the fallout was just as messy as anything you’d see today. When a video of a young Justin Bieber telling a racist joke hit the web, it didn't just rattle the "Beliebers"—it sparked a massive conversation about race, fame, and whether a teenager can truly understand the weight of the slurs they use.
Honestly, it’s one of those moments that redefined his career. People still bring it up. Some use it as a weapon against him, while others see it as the ultimate "growth" narrative. But if you weren't following the tabloids back then, the details might be a little fuzzy.
The Footage That Started It All
The primary video that caused the stir wasn't new when it leaked. It was actually about five years old, filmed back in 2009. At that point, Bieber was only 15. He was just a kid from Ontario with a bowl cut and a massive YouTube following, sitting backstage during the filming of his documentary, Never Say Never.
In the clip, Bieber asks, "Why are Black people afraid of chainsaws?"
You can hear someone off-camera—reportedly a member of his team—warning him not to say it. They knew it was a bad idea. But he went ahead anyway, mimicking the sound of a chainsaw and using the N-word as the punchline.
It was awkward. It was cringe. And it was deeply offensive.
The British tabloid The Sun was the one to break the story in June 2014. They claimed they’d known about the video for years. Apparently, Bieber’s team had been trying to keep the footage under wraps for a long time, allegedly even offering to pay a "huge sum" of money to keep it from surfacing. But eventually, the dam broke.
One Less Lonely... What?
Just as the first apology was landing, a second video popped up. This one was even more specific.
In this clip, a 14-year-old Bieber is seen sitting on a chair, giggling. He starts singing a parody of his own hit, "One Less Lonely Girl." Except, he swaps out the word "girl" for the N-word. Repeatedly. He even added a line about joining the Ku Klux Klan.
"If I kill you, I'd be a part of the KKK," he sang.
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It wasn't just a slip of the tongue or a "repeat what I heard" moment. It was a structured, albeit incredibly immature, parody. For a lot of people, this was the point of no return. It’s one thing to tell a bad joke; it’s another to sing about the KKK while laughing.
The Response from the Inner Circle
The music industry is small, and Bieber’s mentors were in a tough spot. Usher, who basically discovered Justin and acted as his big-brother figure, had to answer for it. He’s Black. The optics were terrible.
Usher eventually took to Instagram to defend him. He called Justin a "naïve child" who didn't understand the "negative power and degradation" of those words. He was firm: Justin was not a racist. He was just a kid who had made a massive, ignorant mistake.
Scooter Braun, Bieber’s manager, was also in damage control mode. The narrative they pushed was consistent: Justin was young, he was influenced by the wrong things, and he had grown up since then. Even 50 Cent and Floyd Mayweather jumped in to defend him. They basically said that when you’re that famous, that young, you don't even know who you are yet.
Whether you buy that or not is a different story.
Why the Apology Actually Mattered
Usually, celebrity apologies are total garbage. They use phrases like "I'm sorry if you were offended" or "mistakes were made." They avoid the "I" word like the plague.
But Bieber’s 2014 statement was surprisingly direct. He didn't blame the person who leaked it. He didn't say it was AI (mostly because that technology didn't really exist in a convincing way back then).
He said:
"I thought it was ok to repeat hurtful words and jokes, but I didn't realize at the time that it wasn't funny and that in fact my actions were continuing the ignorance."
He admitted he was a man now who knew his responsibility. He called his own behavior "childish and inexcusable."
Looking back, that apology became the blueprint for his "redemption era." A year later, he released Purpose, went on a massive press tour to show he’d changed, and basically successfully pivoted from "teen brat" to "mature artist."
The Long-Term Impact
Does it still matter? In short: yeah.
In 2020, during the height of the Black Lives Matter movement, Bieber addressed his past again. He admitted on Instagram that he had "benefited off of Black culture" and acknowledged that his style, his music, and his career were built on the backs of Black creators. He vowed to use his platform to fight racial injustice.
It was a full-circle moment.
It showed that the "racist joke" wasn't just a PR fire he had to put out; it was something that fundamentally altered how he viewed his place in the industry. He stopped pretending it didn't happen and started acknowledging why it was so damaging in the first place.
What We Can Learn From the Bieber Scandal
If you're looking for a "takeaway," it's probably about the permanence of the internet.
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- Digital Footprints are Real: A joke told at 14 can come back to haunt you at 20, 30, or 40.
- The Power of Words: As Bieber eventually realized, certain words carry a weight that "intent" can't erase.
- Owning the Mess: The reason Bieber survived this—while others have been "canceled" for less—is likely because he didn't hide. He owned the ignorance.
If you’re researching this to understand the "cancel culture" of the mid-2010s, it’s worth comparing his response to others. He didn't sue the tabloids. He didn't hide behind his lawyers. He just said, "I was ignorant," and spent the next decade trying to prove he wasn't that person anymore.
To stay informed on how these types of controversies impact modern careers, pay attention to how artists handle their past "digital ghosts." The most successful ones are usually those who address the mistake head-on rather than waiting for the internet to find it for them.